Who is the Muddy Pup?

Muddy Pup Pottery was inspired by my wonderful pup, Cody.  He's the first dog I've owned since I was a kid, and he is my right side pooch.  He's definitely a mama's boy, and has to be as close to me as possible all the time.  Yes, that's right.  He has a mohawk.  Not always, but he just got a summer cut and we couldn't resist leaving a little bit on top just for fun. 

I got him back in April of 2011, and have been loving every moment of his wonderful fuzzy self ever since.  He's half Shih Tzu, half Yorkie.  We call him a Shorkie, though depending on the day he can also be a Shitshire Terrier.  :)

As for the pottery, I've been playing with clay long before Cody was a twinkle in his real mama's eye.  In college, I started as an Elementary Education major.  At one point I decided it wasn't for me and switched to Art Education.  After another semester, I decided I needed to pursue art and I didn't want to teach.  I started taking all the studio classes I could: Wood working, stained glass, jewelry making, drawing, photography.  I did well in all of them, and none of them were a challenge.  Then, I came across pottery.  It was the first class that I didn't immediately get the hang of it.  It was the first time I had been challenged in any of my art classes.  This is where my passion started.

In college, I couldn't throw round things.  I don't know if it was lack of sleep for 4 years, or a time crunch on getting homework done.  Or maybe it was the police standing over me saying "The building closed an hour ago.. You need to get out... It's not my problem you can't bring your homework home with you."  Or maybe I hadn't yet developed my touch.  Regardless, I began to alter my pieces and explore some really interesting shapes.

If you look at my work then and compare it to my work now, its drastically different.  I would like to say I am a better potter now than I was then, but I think my touch is just more developed.

Throughout the year, my goal for myself is to start pushing the envelope again.  Start playing more.  Don't be afraid to make something totally out there.  Looking back, the 2 pieces that were in the highest demand that I made were juice cups that looked like toilets and a serving platter made to look like a uterus.  Why not push the envelope a bit?

Song of the hour:  I Believe in a Thing Called Love by the Darkness.  Have you ever seen this video?  It's pretty ridiculous.  In an incredibly awesome way.